Quebec fee hikes cancelled, students claim victory

Her first day on the job and Premier Pauline Marois didn’t lose any time in scrapping former Liberal government policies. University tuition fee hikes were cancelled, a law restricting public demonstrations was repealed, Quebec’s only nuclear power plant will be closed and shale gas development was put on hold permanently, writes Rhéal Séguin for The Globe and Mail.

The elimination of tuition fee hikes marked a historic day for the province’s student movement. The Liberal plan to increase the fees sparked a four-month strike last spring with nightly demonstrations and social unrest throughout the province. Students campaigned hard to defeat the Liberals in the 4 September election.

Student leaders declared victory when Marois announced that tuition fees would be maintained at $2,168 a year without taking back additional money the Liberals had put into student financial aid in an attempt to make the increase more palatable. Marois said the measure will not cost more than $20-million in the current fiscal year.
Full report on The Globe and Mail site